West One Loans has launched into second charge lending for the first time.

West One’s second charge team is led by former V Loans managing director Marie Grundy (pictured) as well as Paul Simpson, formerly of Morgan Stanley and Ed McAra, who previously worked at Omni Capital .

The second charge proposition is in a pilot phase and will go to the wider intermediary market in the third quarter of 2017, initially through master brokers.

Grundy said: “We are hugely excited about extending our product reach to include second charge mortgage products.

“Our proposition will deliver an extensive range of second charge mortgage solutions, built upon West One’s solid reputation for taking time to understand individual borrower’s needs, and combined with an in-depth understanding of the seconds market.

“This means we can cater for borrowers who require a bespoke approach to lending, including those who are currently underserved, such as the self-employed, older borrowers and those with less-than-perfect credit histories.

“West One’s proposition will be supported by innovative lending and broker portal systems, designed from a broker’s perspective to ensure that our broker partners can meet all the demands of the regulated advice and packaging process, with upfront decision-making and streamlined document production.”